REPORT ON

RAWE PROGRAMME
(2018-2019)

Dr. (Ms.)Anindita Saha Principal (Dean)

Assistant Professor of Agril. Extension & Palli Siksha Bhavana
RAWE Coordinator Visva – Bharati Sriniketan

PALLI SIKSHA BHAVANA (Institute of Agriculture)

VISVA-BHARATI

SRINIKETAN

2019
 Content

1. Introduction 01

2. Approach of RAWE Programme 03

3. Outlines of RAWE Programme 05

4. Locale of RAWE Programme 09

5. Schedule of the RAWE Programme 11

6. Activities Performed 16

7. Overall Outcomes of RAWE Programme 30

8. Evaluation of RAWE Programme 31

9. Limitations of RAWE Programme 31

10. Conclusion 31

11. Acknowledgement 32
 “Everything else can wait, but not Agriculture.”
-Jawaharlal Nehru

Introduction
The pioneer effort of rural reconstruction known as Sriniketan Experiment has been
started by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in the year1921 at Sriniketan. Agriculture was
at the core area of Sriniketan Experiment as testified by the fact of association of Leonard
Elmhirst, Rathindranath Tagore, Santosh Chandra Mazumdar and Nagendranath Ganguly. Palli
Siksha Bhavana, the present Institute of Agriculture still carries the legacy of the rural
reconstruction effort of Rabindranath Tagore, the founder of Visva-Bharati.

Agricultural education needs to be evolved in a very rapid manner to meet the

expectation of the society. Though the students of agriculture are learning substantial basic and
applied issues of science and technology, they do not possess adequate confidence in starting
own commercial venture. Under this situation, Rural Awareness Work Experience Programme
(RAWE) is an important competence and confidence building programme introduced in the
Institutes of Agriculture and the SAUs in India. With a view to giving the real-life exposure to
the students Palli Siksha Bhavana (Institute of Agriculture) has also introduced this programme
for the students of VIIIth Semester B.Sc (Ag.) Hons. This Programme is a sequel of the
recommendation made by the ‘Randhawa Committee’ constituted by ICAR. The Rural
Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) programme is a flagship activity for the final year B.Sc.
(Ag.) students during the last semester. Building self-confidence in the agricultural graduates by
honing their professional skills is the key objective of introducing RAWE at the under graduate
level by ICAR. Accordingly, this semester-long programme has been evolved. The most
important area in which the development needs to be continuously accelerated is agriculture,
which is the backbone of country’s economy. In order to bring about changes in the knowledge,
skill and attitude of the people engaged in farming, a sustained effort is necessary and thus could
be achieved only through purposeful education. Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE)
Programme is a key component in the B.Sc. (Ag.) degree programme. The students are given
rigorous orientation and familiarization on various issues and problems they can expect in the
farmers’ field.
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 As per the recommendation of ICAR one full semester has been earmarked with the
following
OBJECTIVES
• To make them understand the rural community life and the prevailing situation
• To familiarize with the rural socio-economic conditions
• To provide an opportunity to have practical training in crop production
• To improve communication skills among the students using extension teaching methods
in transfer of technology
• To sensitize them regarding agricultural technologies, used by farmers and to prepare
alternate farm plans according to the local situation in consultation with the farmers
• To develop confidence and competence in students for handling professional problems
• To acquaint the students with on- going thrust on rural development programmes
• To make the students understand the changed role of men and women in agricultural and
allied fields.
• To explore the high-tech agricultural technology and the factors affecting the adoption of
modern methods of agriculture.
• To initiate awareness, understanding and skills among the students with special reference
to the scientific model of “Integrated Development of Agriculture” i.e. crop husbandry,
horticulture, agro forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, dairying, agro-based
industries, processing, marketing etc.
• To know the techniques / know how to prepare and develop the package through
collection of data from grass root level
• To expose them to the research methodologies e.g. experimental techniques,
management, collection and processing of experimental data.

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APPROACH OF RAWE PROGRAMME
Experiential learning approaches towards problem solving and improving interaction with the
world outside. The learning process essentially provides a direction to the students to think and act
and eventually creates self-confidence. It helps the students develop their competence, capability,
capacity building, skills, expertise, in short a holistic development. However, it requires an
individual’s total commitment, involvement, participation, reception, active interest, dedication, skill,
curiosity, vision and mission.
Under the changing dynamics of economical and industrial growth agriculture has undergone a
sea change with new approaches. Therefore, this experiential system in agricultural academia has
become imperative for better training to the agricultural technocrats with high level of skill in
combination with the modern out-look and management capacity.
The experiential approach is a learner-centred approach and allows an individual student to
be responsible for his own learning minimizing the role of his teachers and hosts. Effective work
experience training strategies incorporating rural agricultural experiential learning approach
provide opportunities to a student to experience the fieldwork activity and to review and analyze
critically his own work experience so that they prove to be useful in their real-life situation.

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Experiential Learning Cycle

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OUTLINES OF RAWE PROGRAMME
The RAWE Programme has been implemented for a period of six months in the
VIIIth Semester. The programme encompasses five core areas (Table 1):
Table 1: Course Structure of RAWE Programme
Course No. Course Credits Course Leader Course Facilitators
RAWE - 01 Crop Production 05 Dr. P.K. Biswas Prof. A.K. Barik
[Village Attachment] Prof. P.C. Kole
Prof. G.K. Ghosh
Prof. B.K. Saren
Dr. S. Chakraborty
Dr. A. Paul
Dr. G.C. Malik
Dr. G. Mondal
Dr. D. Panda
Dr. S. K. Maity
Dr. P. Kandaswamy
Dr. J. Mondal
Dr. K. Pramanik
Dr. (Mrs.) M. Banerjee
Dr. N. Chakraborty
Dr. K. C. Swain
Dr. (Mrs.) Sananda Mondal
Dr. (Mrs.) Suchhanda
Mondal
Dr. P. Deb
Dr. N. C. Sarkar
Dr. M. C. Kundu
Dr. S. Debnath
Dr. P. Ghosh
Dr. G. Mondal
RAWE - 02 Crop Protection 04 Dr.(Mrs.) S. Prof. H. Chatterjee
[Village Attachment] Bhattacharya Dr. R. Nath
Dr. P. Mondal
Dr. M. Biswas
Dr. B. Mondal
RAWE - 03 Rural Economics 03 Dr. D. Sarkar Prof. B. C. Roy
[Village Attachment] Dr. B. Mondal
RAWE - 04 Extension Programme 04 Dr. S.D. Prof. S. Chowdury
[Village Attachment] Mukhopadhyay Prof. S. Ghosh
RAWE - 05 Research Station / 04 Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha Dr. S. Mondal, RKVK
KVK / DAATT Center Dr. P. Roy, RKVK
Activities and
Attachment to the
Agro-based Industries

Total 20 Credits

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 The programme has been managed by the Principal/ Dean, Institute of
Agriculture, RAWE Coordinator, Course Leaders, Course facilitators and
supporting staff like Gram Karmis (village level worker for extension activities).
The complete guideline has been given to the students before commencement of
the programme. Students have completed the above mentioned courses under the
guidance of different course leaders and course facilitators. Course details of
RAWE Programme are given below:

RAWE-01: Crop Production [Village Attachment]:-

 Cultivation of rabi crops and their management at the village.

 Studies on constraints of field crop production in the village.
 Studies on farming system and land use pattern and constraints in adopting diversified
and multiple cropping at the village.
 Studies on irrigation practices in farmers' field.
 Studies on weed management in field crops.
 Study on horticulture based farming System.
 Study on cultivation of horticulture crops and production constraints.
 Study on horticulture based commercial farms and its component analysis.
 Post harvest studies on horticulture crops.
 Farmers’ package of practices for production of quality seeds
 Farmers’ knowledge on crop varieties and participatory plant breeding
 Determination of soil texture by field method.
 Use of soil testing kit.
 Status of manuring processes followed in villages.
 Studies on soil profile and soil erosion status.
 Study of farm mechanization status in a village.
 Study of post harvest technology of agricultural products in village level.

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RAWE-02: Crop Protection [Village Attachment]:-

 Survey for prevalence of diseases of rabi crops in a village having biodiversity

 Survey of insect pests of rabi crops in a village
 Surveillance and scouting to potato late blight and early , frost damage of boro rice
seedlings in the selected village
 Study of plant protection status and programmes in the allotted block
 Field diagnostics of different insects-pests and non-insect pests through damage pattern
and insect remnants etc.
 Surveillance and scouting to wheat rusts, phytopathometry and crop loss assessment of
field and horticultural crops
 Study of insect – pests and bio-control agents of boro rice in a selected village
 Retrospective survey of crop pests and diseases in a village
 Study of nature of dispersion and distribution of various insect-pests
 Study of pesticides consumption and marketing of pesticides
 Study of rural farm storage structures and / or cold storage structures
 Farmer’s perception, practice of plant protection with particular reference to ITK

RAWE-03: Rural Economics [Village Attachment]:-

 Socio-economic survey including preparation of survey schedule and sampling
technique: demography and cropping pattern
 Field Survey: Identification of marketing channel, Price spread analysis, Market survey
 Study on cost of cultivation
 Study on financial institutions
 Study on marketing institutions

RAWE-04: Extension Programme [Village Attachment]:-

 Agro-ecosystem analyses for formulating suitable extension approach in the selected
village
 Study of the village level institutions related with rural and agricultural development
 Study of the mobility pattern and migration pattern in the villages
 Study of different community based organisation in the village engaged agricultural
and rural development activities
 Study of communication pattern of villagers and participatory message development
 Identification of field level constraints in participatory mode
 Strength, Weakness, opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analyses
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RAWE-05: Research Station / KVK / DAATT Center Activities and Attachment to the
Agro-based Industries:-
 Activities of research station - mandate, organisational structure, research projects:
ongoing and completed, research achievements, varieties developed, technology
transfer, training, linkage, extension activities, financial performance, constraints.
 Activities of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) - mandate, details of district, organisational
structure, technical achievements- i) target and achievement of mandatory activities ii)
abstract of intervention undertaken based on thrust area, on farm tests- i) number of
technologies assessed ii) achievement on technologies assessed and refined iii) results
of technologies assessed, front line demonstration- i) FLDs implemented during
current year ii) results of front line demonstrations, demonstration on crop hybrids,
training, extension activities, production of seeds, plants and livestock, success
stories, impact, linkages, financial performance, constraints.
 Study of Community Development Block - demographic analysis, institutional analysis,
livelihood analysis, critical analysis of various development programmes, constraint
analysis.
 Attachment to the Agro-based Industries - profile of agro-processing unit, economics
of agro-processing unit, marketing behaviour of agro -processing unit, risk
management of agro-processing unit, constraints of agro -processing unit.

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Locale of RAWE Programme
The RAWE Programme has mainly covered various villages under Bolpur- Sriniketan,
Illambazar and Nanur blocks of Birbhum district of West Bengal as the students have undergone
most of the RAWE courses as village attachment programmes. Student have worked and
experienced about rural and agricultural scenario in about 15 different villages under seven Gram
Panchayats (GPs) viz. Raipur-Supur, Ruppur, Sian-Muluk, Sattour, Bilati Sultanpur, Illambazar
and Charkal. Students were also placed in different blocks of West Bengal as well as financial
institutions in different places of West Bengal for the placement works under the RAWE courses.
Students have interacted with the farmers, farm women, rural youth, scientists of research
stations, subject matter specialists of KVK, officials of line departments, financial institutions
and agro-based industries in order to blend their theoretical knowledge with practical life to have
realistic experiences in the concerned field.

Village attachment under RAWE programme

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 Schedule of the RAWE Programme (2018-19) for Semester VIII of B.Sc. (Ag.) Hons.
Date and Day Course Course Content Course Facilitator Course Leader

21.12.18 (Friday) Orientation on RAWE Programme and RAWE Courses at 11.00am Principal, Vice-Principals, Course Coordinator and
Course Leaders
(Venue: Deptt. of Agricultural Extension)

22.12.18 (Thursday) RAWE 01 Determination of soil texture by field method Dr. M.C. Kundu Dr. P.K. Biswas
04.01.19 (Friday) RAWE 01 Study on irrigation practices in farmers’ fields Prof. B.K. Saren
Dr. K. Pramanik
Dr. P. Ghosh
05.01.19 (Saturday) RAWE 05 Activities of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Research Station Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha
06.01.19 (Sunday)
07.01.19 (Monday)

08.01.19 (Tuesday)
11.01.19 (Friday) RAWE 03 Socio-economic survey including preparation of survey schedule and Prof. B.C. Roy Dr. D. Sarkar
12.01.19 (Saturday) sampling technique: i) Demography ii) Cropping pattern Dr. B. Mondal

13.01.19 (Sunday) RAWE 01 Studies on farming system and land use pattern and constraints in adopting Dr. S.K. Maity Dr. P.K. Biswas
diversified and multiple cropping at the village Dr. (Mrs.) M. Banerjee
14.01.19 (Monday) RAWE 02 Survey of insect pests of rabi crops in a village Prof. H. Chatterjee Dr. (Mrs.) S.
Bhattacharya
15.01.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 05 Study of Community Development Block Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha
to
25.01.19 (Friday) RAWE 02 Study of plant protection status and programmes in the allotted Block Dr. (Mrs.) S. Bhattacharya Dr. (Mrs.) S.
Bhattacharya
RAWE 03 Study on Financial Institutions Dr. D. Sarkar Dr. D. Sarkar

27.01.19 (Sunday) RAWE 02 Survey for prevalence of diseases of rabi crops in a village having wide Dr. M.K.Biswas Dr. (Mrs.) S.
crop diversity Bhattacharya

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 Date and Day Course Course Content Course Facilitator Course Leader
28.01.19 (Monday) RAWE 01 Cultivation of rabi crops and their management at the village Prof. A.K. Barik Dr. P.K. Biswas
Dr. N.C. Sarkar
29.01.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 01 Studies on weed management in field crops Dr. B. Duary

Dr. G.C. Malik

01.02.19 (Friday) RAWE 04 Agro-ecosystem analyses for formulating suitable extension approach in the Dr. S.D. Mukhopadhyay Prof. Dr. S.D.
selected village S. Ghosh Mukhopadhyay
02.02.19 (Saturday) RAWE 01 Farmers’ package of practices for production of quality seeds Prof. P.C. Kole Dr. P.K. Biswas
Dr. N. Chakraborty
03.02.19 (Sunday) RAWE 02 Surveillance and scouting to wheat rusts, potato late blight and early frost Dr. R. Nath Dr. (Mrs.) S.
damage of boro rice seedlings Bhattacharya
04.02.19 (Monday) RAWE 01 Studies on soil profile and soil erosion status Dr. (Mrs.) S. Mandal Dr. P.K. Biswas
05.02.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 01 Layout, landscaping, horticulture based farming Dr. S. Chakraborty
08.02.19 (Friday) RAWE 03 Study on marketing institutions Dr. D. Sarkar Dr. D. Sarkar
Dr. B. Mondal
09.02.19 (Saturday) RAWE 03 Study on cost of cultivation

10.02.19 (Sunday) RAWE 04 Study of communication pattern of villagers and participatory message Prof. S. Chowdhury Dr. S.D.
development Mukhopadhyay
11.02.19 (Monday) RAWE 04

12.02.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 01 Study on cultivation of horticulture crops and production constraints Dr. P. Deb Dr. P.K. Biswas

15.02.19 (Friday) RAWE 02 Study of insect – pests and bio-control agents of boro rice in a selected Dr. P. Mandal Dr. (Mrs.) S.
village Bhattacharya

16.02.19 (Saturday) RAWE 03 Field Survey: Dr. D. Sarkar Dr. D. Sarkar

Dr. B. Mandal
17.02.19 (Sunday) RAWE 03 - Identification of marketing channel
- Price spread analysis
18.02.19 (Monday) RAWE 03 - Market survey

19.02.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 04 Study of the mobility pattern and migration pattern in the villages Dr. S.D. Mukhopadhyay Dr. S.D.
Prof. S. Ghosh Mukhopadhyay

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 Date and Day Course Course Content Course Facilitator Course Leader
22.02.19 (Friday) RAWE 01 Farmers’ knowledge on crop varieties and participatory plant breeding Dr. A. Paul Dr. P.K. Biswas
Dr. S. Debnath
23.02.19 (Saturday) RAWE 01 Use of soil testing Kit Prof. G.K. Ghosh

24.02.19 (Sunday) RAWE 01 Status of manuring processes followed in villages Dr. P.K. Biswas
25.02.19 (Monday) RAWE 02 Surveillance and scouting to wheat rusts, Phytopathometry and crop loss Dr. M.K. Biswas Dr. (Mrs.) S.
assessment of field and horticultural crops Bhattacharya
26.02.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 01 Study on farm mechanization and agro-processing Dr. P. Kandaswamy Dr. P.K. Biswas
Dr. K.C. Swain
01.03.19 (Friday) to RAWE 05 Attachment to the Agro-based Industries Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha Dr. (Mrs.) A. Saha
05.03.19 (Tuesday)

08.03.19 (Friday) RAWE 04 Study of different Community based Organisation in the villages engaged in Dr. S.D. Mukhopadhyay Dr. S.D.
agricultural and rural development activities Prof. S. Ghosh Mukhopadhyay
09.03.19 (Saturday) RAWE 04

10.03.19 (Sunday) RAWE 01 Post-harvest studies on horticulture crops Dr. G. Mondal Dr. P.K. Biswas
11.03.19 (Monday) RAWE 01 Study on horticulture based commercial farms and its component analysis Dr. J. Mondal
12.03.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 02 Retrospective survey of crop pests and diseases in a village Dr. R. Nath Dr. (Mrs.) S.
Bhattacharya
Dr. B. Mandal

15.03.19 (Friday) RAWE 02 Study of nature of dispersion and distribution of various insect-pests Prof. H. Chatterjee
attacking different field crops

16.03.19 (Saturday) RAWE 01 Studies on crop maturity stage and post-harvest processing Dr. D. Panda Dr. P.K. Biswas
Dr. (Mrs.) S. Mandal
17.03.19 (Sunday) RAWE 04 Identification of field level constraints in participatory mode Dr. S.D. Mukhopadhyay Dr. S.D.
Mukhopadhyay
18.03.19 (Monday) RAWE 04

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 Date and Day Course Course Content Course Facilitator Course Leader

19.03.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 02 Study of rural farm storage structures and / or cold storage structures Dr. (Mrs.) S. Bhattacharya Dr. (Mrs.) S.
Bhattacharya
22.03.19 (Friday) RAWE 02 Study of pesticides consumption and marketing of pesticides Dr. B. Mandal
23.03.19 (Saturday) RAWE 02 Farmer’s perception, practice and problems of Plant Protection with Dr. (Mrs.) S. Bhattacharya
particular reference to ITK
24.03.19 (Sunday) RAWE 01 Study of post-harvest technology of agricultural products in village level Dr. P. Kandaswamy Dr. P.K. Biswas
Dr. K.C. Swain

25.03.19 (Monday) RAWE 04 Study of the village level institutions related with agricultural development Dr. S.D. Mukhopadhyay Dr. S.D. Mukhopadhyay
Prof. S. Ghosh
26.03.19 (Tuesday) RAWE 04 SWOT analyses of agriculture of the selected village

29.03.19 (Friday) to Follow-up Visits / Extra Visits (if require) with respect to all the RAWE Courses
Concerned Course Facilitators and Course Leaders
31.03.19(Sunday)
1-30 April 2019 Any class not conducted due to holidays and/or unforeseen situation was arranged.
(barring holidays)
Final Practical Record/ Report Submission of all the RAWE Courses by 19.04.2019.

Internal Examinations of all the RAWE Courses will held on following dates: Concerned Course Leaders and
20.04.2019: RAWE 01; 21.04.2019: RAWE 02; 22.04.2019: RAWE 03; Course Facilitators
23.04.2019: RAWE 04; 26.04.2019: RAWE 05

(Time and Date may be mutually adjusted by Course Leaders)

May 2019 Final Examination

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The following students have been enrolled for the RAWE Programme for the year 2018-19

Name of Students:- Name of Students:-

1 Abhishek Ranjan 27 Rupam Roy
2 Amit Sahu 28 Saikat Chatterjee
Sambita
3 Anindita Patwari 29
Bhattacharyya
4 Anjan Ghosh 30 Sampriti Guha
5 Ankush Sarkar 31 Sandip Kumar De
6 Anshuman Patel 32 Sanjoy Kumar Das
7 Arnab Mukherjee 33 Santanu Kar
Arunima
8 34 Sayan Chatterjee
Chakraborty
9 Ashutosh Dalal 35 Sayanton Mondal
10 Ayushman Malakar 36 Shivani Bharti
11 Babita Hantal 37 Shreyosi Basak
12 Biswapriya Mallik 38 Soumen Roy
13 Chandana Biswas 39 Soumyadeep Thakur
14 Dawjam Bhutia 40 Soumyakanti Mandal
15 Esha Mitra 41 Soumyayan Roy
16 Hemanta Marandi 42 Sourav Biswas
17 Kajori Saha 43 Sourav Mondal
18 Kherwal Hembram 44 Subhajit Barat
19 Krishna Das 45 Subhasish Sarkar
20 Mahammad Rejak 46 Subrata Ghosh
21 Md. Aniruzzaman 47 Sudeshna Roy
22 Meghna Mandal 48 Sumit Sow
23 Moumita Modak 49 Susmita Pati
24 Prabarita Karjee 50 Sweety Mukherjee
25 Puranjoy Sar 51 Vivekananda Behera
26 Ritraj Nanadi

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Activities Performed

RAWE 01: Crop Production

Under this module of RAWE, practical aspects of crop production were experienced by
the students during their attachments to different villages in Illambazar and Bolpur-Sriniketan
block of Birbhum district in West Bengal that included study on different practices of field
crops (agronomy) and horticultural crops, plant breeding, plant physiology, soil health
management, and farm mechanization. A total of 16 different aspects of crop production were
experienced by the students under this module.
Study on irrigation practices in farmers' fields was undertaken in village Chandanpur.
Irrigation practices for various rabi season crops like rice, potato, mustard, lentil, cabbage,
brinjal and sugarcane studied on the basis of method, source, timing, frequency, etc. Cropping
system adopted by the farmer and limitations in adopting diversified cropping system was
studied in village Mirzapur. Cropping system adopted by the farmers and scope in diversified
cropping system were studied including cropping intensity, comparison of different cropping
system based on rice equivalent yield, cost of cultivation, gross return and diversity index.
Integrated farming system adopted by the farmers and constraints in diversified farming was
experienced by the farmers during their village attachment. An Integrated Farming System
(IFS) model was worked out. It helped the students to understand different facets of farming
system development approach including integration of various enterprises, use of by-products
of enterprises through recycling within the same farm, interrelationships and cost estimates.
Cultivation of different rabi season crops (boro rice, rapeseed, potato, onion, lentil) and their
management practices were studied by the students at village Bhimpur. Studies on weed
management practices of field crops were undertaken by the students at Binuria, Bahadurpur
and Lohagarh villages. The weeds of various crops like rice, brinjal, wheat, mustard, potato,
etc. and yield loss due to weeds and their management practices followed by the farmers were
witnessed by the students during their village attachment.

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17
 Study on farmers' package of practices for production of quality seeds was undertaken
at village Nurpur. The physical quality, genetic purity, physiological purity, etc. were
discussed. The crops cultivated, varieties, sources of seeds, seed treatment, etc. were
documented by the farmers through discussion with the farmers.

Students have studied maturity symptoms of different crops including time of

harvesting at Bahadurpur village. Maturity and harvesting of crops were learnt by the students
from the farmers' experiences. Time of harvesting of different crops viz. rice, wheat, maize,
sorghum, red gram, black/green gram, rapeseed/ mustard, sunflower, groundnut, etc., losses
due to late harvesting, physiological symptom of maturity, assessing the maturity, external
symptoms, harvest maturity symptoms, etc. were studied by the students.

18
 Students experienced the importance of manurial process, compost pit, vermicompost,
etc. in village Daronda. Organic waste management and organic manuring was studied. Type
and method of composting were discussed. The vermicompost units of the farmers were visited
and during interaction it was realized that farmers earn on an average Rupees 35000/- per
month from a unit of 24ft. by 16 ft. Use of soil testing kits at field level was experienced by the
students. The methods of estimation of soil pH, nitrogen, available phosphate, available
potassium and organic carbon were discussed with the students. Determination of soil texture
by feel method and soil testing (pH, available nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and organic
carbon) with the help of soil testing kit oriented the students about soil health management.
Steps in determining soil texture by feel method was discussed with respect to the soil samples
at PSB Agricultural Farm. It was observed that soil was gritty, formed ball that rolled into a
cylinder but broke easily on binding and stained the finger slightly interpreting the soil as
sandy loam. Students gathered knowledge on soil profile and soil erosion by visiting the
different sites (Khoai) and also oriented about various types of erosion and preventing
measures. Student had practical experience of different types of erosions and control
mechanisms. Soil profile was also studied in those areas.

Study on rice processing industry was undertaken by the students through visiting
Bahadurpur and Mirzapur. Students learnt the steps of unit operation, thus developed a flow
chart from collection of raw paddy to packaging of rice that included cleaning, dehusking,
paddy separation, bran removal, grading, whitening & polishing. Student could learn

19
commercial milling system of paddy. Farm mechanization was studied by the students through
preparation of inventories of equipments, implements, and machines used in farming by
interviewing the farmers. Students have interacted with the farmers and learnt different
dimensions of farm mechanization in different crops. Most of the farmers were having disc
plough and thresher besides other required equipments like different types of sprayers (foot
sprayer, knapsack sprayer), spade, sickle, khurpi submersible pump, etc. Tractor and power
tiller were mostly hired by the farmers. The extent of mechanization was influenced by the
fragmented holdings. Students also studied various energy resources of farm.

Students studied horticulture based commercial farm and analyzed its components by
visiting the farm at village Samaidaha. It included general information, farm components,
layout, marketing aspects, processing unit, package of practices and strength, weakness,
opportunity and threat (SWOT) analyses. Post harvest studies on hortcultural crops were
accomplished at Srichandapur village.The processing of products like jam, pickle, squash,
tomato sauce, jelly, etc. was witnessed by the students. During the village attachment (village
Bahadurpur), students have studied horticultural crops and production constraints. Different
aspects of production, processing, marketing and export of major horticultural crops viz.
mango, papaya, guava, vegetables, and plantation crops like coconut, etc. were discussed with
the farmers. Farmers used most of the products from their horticultural crops as their hou sehold
consumptions.

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RAWE 02: Crop Protection

Under second module of RAWE, nine different aspects of crop protection were
experienced by the students during their attachments to different villages.
Students witnessed prevalence of diseases of rabi crops at villages viz. Binuria and
Bahadurpur. Early blight of tomato, tomato leaf curl, wilt of potato, leaf roll of potato, chilli
leaf curl, wilt of lentil, black rot of cabbage, mosaic of cucurbits, powdery mildew, blight of
french bean, Alternaria leaf spot, etc. were identified and management options were discussed.
The control measures were discussed with the farmers as well as course facilitator and
suggested the same. Surveillance and scouting to wheat rust, potato late blight, early frost
damage of boro rice seedling were undertaken at Bahadurpur village. Retrospective survey of
crop disease in Supur village trained the students on data collection and analyses with respect
to particular diseases for a period of past five years. During the interaction with the farmers
students realized significance of crop rotation in controlling attack of particular diseases.
Surveillance and scouting to potato mosaic and measurement of disease incidence, disease
severity and disease index under field condition was studied by the students in Raipur village.
Measurement of disease severity, disease incidence and determination of area under disease
progress curve (AUDPC) was done by the students. Retrospective survey on plant protection
measures adopted by the farmers against different crops of the season was also undertaken.
Survey of insect pest of rabi crops was undertaken by the students in Dangapara village.
Infestation of different insect pests observed were fruit borer of tomato, brinjal fruit and shoot
borer, cabbage caterpillar, mustard aphid, pea pod borer, stem borer of boro rice, sugarcane
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top shoot borer, potato tuber moth, etc. The extent of infestation of fruit borer of tomato was
recorded sampling the plant in one square meter of area at five places of the field (four corners
and middle of field). The management practices were discussed with the farmers. Field
diagnosis of different crop pests and their management was studied. Symptoms and control
measures were discussed for the pests of various crops viz. rice, wheat, onion, potato, beans,
sugarcane, gram, pumpkin, okra, tomato, chilli, cabbage, etc. which were namely, stem borer,
shoot borer, leaf minor, pod-capsule borer, leaf webber, leaf folder, leaf borer, root feeder,
termite, rice case worm, hispa, flea beetle, plant hopper, mites, thrips, etc. Studies on
distribution pattern of insect-pest in crop eco-system were carried out at Dangapara village
with objectives to validate the population estimation method, to study the behaviour of insect
pest and to formulate suitable management strategy. It has made the students to understand
degree of population of a particular species which is of three types - regular distribution,
random distribution, and aggregate distribution. Bio-control agent/ natural enemy in crop field
were also studied. Students observed the frequency and presence of bio-control agents, which
were Coccinella beetle, dragon fly, spider, etc. Different indigenous technical knowledge with
respect to use at field level and storage structures was explored through interaction with the
farmers in Dangapara village that included spray of neem water to control insect pest, burning
of tyre in the field to control insect pest, use of manures in spraying, use of vegetable compost,
storage structure for rice ‘morai’, using ‘bon pata’ / ‘nishindi leaves’ storing oilseeds, neem
leaves, chilli leaves in storage structures, etc. Each student conducted a study of plant
protection status and programmes in the allotted Block. The plant protection status and
programmes of different blocks under different districts of West Bengal , Bihar and Odisha
were studied by the students.

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RAWE 03: Rural Economics

Under third module of RAWE, students have studied different aspects of rural economy
during their attachments to different villages and financial institutions, which included
household and socio-economic survey (demography, cropping scenario, estimation of cost of
cultivation, etc), market survey to identifying marketing channel, price spread analysis, etc.,
study on producers surplus, market survey of agricultural products, survey of marketing and
financial institutions.
Household survey was conducted for estimation of cost of cultivation at Surul village. It
was based on operational costs (labour costs), material costs, other costs, returns/yields, prices,
owned fixed resources, etc. Cost A1, Cost A2 Cost B and Cost C were calculated. Gross
returns (yield x cost), farm business income (gross income - Cost A1), family labour income
(gross income - Cost B), net income (gross income - Cost C), farm investment income (farm
business income - imputed value of family labour). Lack of farm mechanization was found one
of the causes of less return.
Study on marketing institution was conducted by the students in Bolpur Kisan Bazar.
Marketing channels of various agricultural products as well as inputs, market activities,
economic condition of producers, consumers and middleman/ traders and market structure were
studied. Data collected with respect to vegetable market that comprises local farmer, aratdar,
retailer and consumer. Per day transaction of the market was recorded. Thus, marketing
behaviour of different products viz. vegetables, fish, and chicken was studied. Market survey
of agricultural products was also undertaken by the students. They observed that majority of
the consumers mainly purchase vegetables and fish from Kisan Bazar. The amount of potato
purchased was highest among the vegetables.
Study on marketing channel, marketable surplus, marketed surplus and price spread was
undertaken in Bahadurpur village. The marketable surplus is that quantity of produce which
can be made available to the non-farm population (marketable surplus = total production - total
requirements of producer that includes family consumption, farm needs, payment of labour,
landlord and other payments in kind, etc). Marketed surplus is that quantity of the produce
which the producer farmer actually sells in the market, irrespective of the requirements for
family consumption, farm needs and other payments. The marketed plus may be more, less or
equal to the marketable surplus, depending upon the condition of the farmer and type of the
crop. The general information on price spread and marketing channel associated with paddy
was obtained from village merchant (Aratdar). Marketing channel of paddy was farmer-
wholesaler-rice mill. Price spread (the difference between the price paid by the consumer and
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price received by the farmer) was determined with respect to paddy, potato, mustard,
vegetables, etc. Marketing channel followed in case of inputs and farm produces as well as
price spread analysis was also conducted by the students.

Students were placed in different financial institutions including Commercial Bank,

Regional Rural Bank and Cooperative Bank situated in at different places of West Bengal , Bihar
and Odisha in India. The specific objectives of this placement were to know the status of
financial institutions in terms of infrastructure including connectivity and engagement of
personnel, to study the trend in deposit and disbursement of credit along with status of repayment
of the financial institutions and to explore the availability of credit for agriculture and allied
section. Students have collected information in the respective bank located near their native
blocks and districts. A well structured schedule was prepared to collect the information about
different aspects of banking over the last five years. The schedule included general information
on the selected bank, number of staff, number of different accounts, amount deposited in
different accounts, details of loan accounts, disbursement of amount and time period of credit in
different purposes, repayment status, procedure of sanctioning credit, etc. Most of the financial
institutions have cooperated to provide the information to students and also acquainted the
students with the day to day banking process. The collected data was analysed by employing
suitable techniques to fulfil the various objectives of the study. It has been observed that most of
the financial institutions were well structured in terms of infrastructure and other connectivity
except RRBs and Cooperatives. Growth was characterised also by greater inequality in the
distribution of benefits. It is found that the distribution of bank branches and agricultural credit
had six major features. Even though the number of bank branches in rural areas rose in recent
years, this growth did not keep pace with the growth of rural population. The reduction of total
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population per branch was faster than the reduction of rural population per branch, suggesting a
greater penetration of branches in urban areas than in rural. Secondly, indirect agricultural credit
constituted a bigger share than previously to the growth of overall agricultural credit. Thirdly,
there was a sharp increase in the share of large-size loans in agricultural credit. Fourthly, there
was a substantial increase in the share of agricultural credit outstanding from urban and
metropolitan branches of banks in the recent years. Agricultural credit was increasingly diverted
away from rural areas, particularly from the marginal and small farmers, and towards large
business interests based in urban areas. Fifthly, there was a concentration of disbursal of
agricultural credit from January to March, which is generally not the normal periods of
borrowing by farmers. Sixthly, there was a sharp fall in the share of long-term credit in total
agricultural credit. Consequently, the portion of agricultural credit used for fixed capital
formation in agriculture became smaller. Students have submitted individual report after their
placement programme.
RAWE 04: Extension Programme
Under this module of RAWE, different aspects of agricultural extension, especially
field extension programmes, were studied by the students during their attachments to different
villages, which included study on effectiveness of Krishi Mela in dissemination of information,
agro-ecosystem analysis through participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques, constraints
analysis, study of communication/ information sources use pattern, role and importance of
village level institutions, documentation during rural agricultural fair (Magh Mela) through
photo features, strength-weakness-opportunity-threat (SWOT) analysis of farming in selected
village, etc.
Effectiveness of Krishi Mela in dissemination of information was studied by the
students. Different aspects of agriculture viz. soil heath management, crop farming,
horticultural crop production, livestock production, fish farming, financial and developmental
schemes were studied by the students through interaction with the personnel of respective
organizations participated in the fair and farmers visiting the fair.
Agro-ecosystem analysis was done by the students during their village attachment at
Bahadurpur village, which included analyses of space (transact walk, mapping), time (time
line, time trend, seasonality diagram, etc), flow (mobility map, venn diagram, etc) and decision
(wealth ranking, constraints analysis). Different methods followed were transect/ biodiversity
walk, resource profile of the village, time line, seasonality diagram of crops, farming activity
scheduling of crops, mobility diagram, venn diagram, etc. This exercise has helped the students
to understand the rural agro-ecosystem for formulating suitable extension approach to improve
the farming.

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 Communication and information sources use pattern of the farmers were studied by the
students in village Bahadurpur. The pattern of communication was studied based on the
frequency and purpose of use of different sources viz. personal localite, personal cosmopolite
and impersonal cosmopolite/ mass media.
Perception of farmers regarding field level constraints was studied by the students
during the village attachment (Bahadurpur village). Agro-climatic, infrastructural,
technological, socio-economic, and other constraints were recorded based on the perceptions of
the farmers. Fragmented land holding, erratic rainfall, poor irrigation facility, insufficient
technical advice, etc. Strength-weakness-opportunity-threat (SWOT) analysis of farming was
carried out by the students in Bahadurpur village. A developmental plan based on the SWOT
analysis as well as constraints analysis was framed that included rain water harvesting to
alleviate irrigation related problems, mixed farming, cultivation of water efficient crops, paira
cropping, pressurized irrigation system, farm mechanization, crop insurance, etc.
Students have interacted with the farmers, rural artisans and experts during Sriniketan
Utsav (6-8 February). To celebrate the anniversary of Sriniketan, a fair along with an
exhibition is organized in every year (since formally started on 6th February 1922), which is
based on the agricultural products, equipments as well as the handicrafts. The students were
involved in orgainsing an exhibition on the theme 'Agricultural livelihood and its
diversification: technologies and information' under the guidance of faculties of Department of
Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Statistics, Palli Siksha
Bhavana (Institute of Agriculture), Visva-Bharati. Students have made the documentation in
form of photo-features on this event. They have also learnt the art of writing economic news,
production news and rural life news.
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 A study on village level organization (‘Aamar Kutir”) helped the students to understand
the function, nature of activities, infrastructure, funding, constraints, etc through discussion
with the members of selected organization. The students could know the organizational issues
related to teamwork, leadership, problem solving skills, conflict management, etc. Students
have understood the potential of entrepreneurship based on traditional craft in rural areas
during their visit to ‘Amar Kutir Society for Rural Development’ at Ballavpur. The discussion
with the officials as well as members of society on different issues like production, processing,
marketing, management, etc of different units provided the students an exposure on successful
implementation of rural entrepreneurship. It has also given an orientation to the students with
respect to self-help group approach, empowerment of rural women, diversified rural livelihood.
RAWE 05: Research Station / KVK / DAATT Center Activities and Attachment to the
Agro-based Industries
Under this module of RAWE, students were placed to research station, Krishi Vigyan
Kendra (KVK), and block level agricultural development institutions to orient them with
agricultural research, extension, and developmental activities, respectively. An attachment to
the agro-based industries has enabled the students to understand the different aspects of agri-
business.
Students have studied various activities of Sub-divisional Adaptive Research Farm
(SARF) under the Department of Agriculture, Govt of West Bengal, managed by Assistant
Director of Agriculture located at Sriniketan, Dist. Birbum. This research farm having 25 acre
farm (16.63 acre cultivated area) caters the need of agricultural research and transfer of
technology in Red and Lateritic Zone of West Bengal. Students have discussed with the
officials and scientists as well as visited the research farm to understand and witness the on -
going research activities including cropping pattern, organic farming, soil health management,
aromatic rice production, system of assured rice production (SUDHA method or SARP) , etc.
The on-going research projects are mainly based on agronomy, entomology, pathology and soil
health aspects. The cropping intensity is 151.9%. Improving economy of neighbouring villages,
information exchange and imparting training, technology transfer, etc are found to be the
priority areas. Lack of efficient irrigation facilities, coordination and participation, labour
shortage, finance, etc are few problems faced by this research farm; however, the station has
been performing well and contributed immensely in the field of aromatic rice production. The
farm is having well developed agro-meteorological observatory facilities.

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 During the placement of students at Rathindra Krishi Vigyan Kendra (RKVK), Palli
Siksha Bhavana, Sriniketan, the entire facet of KVK was understood. Students got an
orientation of this KVK since its inception in 1994 and studied the detail activities of it during
recent past. Discussion with the subject matter specialist (SMS) has helped the students to
know the multi-disciplinary and participatory approach of agricultural extension. During the
visit to farm, students have seen mango orchard, guava orchard, Azolla unit, poultry unit,
portable fish breeding unit, vermin-compost unit, soil and water testing laboratory, plant
diagnostic laboratory, medicinal plants unit, on-farm trial plots, etc. The organizational
structure, mandate, thrust areas, salient achievements including conduction of on-farm trial,
frontline demonstration, training and extension activities have given the opportunities to the
students to understand the significance of KVK in national agricultural education, research and
extension system. Some of the success stories of RKVK enlightened the student’s viz. fresh
water giant prawn in composite fish culture, glass jar hatchery for carp eggs in rural areas,
cultivation of crops like broccoli, capsicum, etc. The concept of market development through
‘Kisan Bazar’ was another unique aspect learnt by the students under gambit of market-led
extension approach.

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 Students were placed in a Block for the study of rural and agricultural development
activities in the allotted Block. Accordingly, the rural and agricultural development scenario of
different blocks under under tem districts of West Bengal and one district in Jharkhand – 23
students in Birbhum dist., 15 students in Burdwan dist., 2 students each in Nadia dist., Purulia
dist. and Howrah dist, 1 student each in Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur, Bankura, North
24 Parganas, and Murshidabad dists. of West Bengal and Sahibganj district of Jharkhand.
Students have collected primary as well as secondary data on different aspects like
demography, institutions, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, on-going rural
development programmes, NGOs, self-help groups and cooperative societies. Students have
also collected detailed information regarding various activities, working pattern, administrati ve
structure, constraints, target and achievement of different line departments of State
Government. Students have learnt about the institutional issues and linkage mechanisms among
various line departments. After the placement work in different community development
blocks, students have submitted explorative reports on their respective blocks, which have
provided valuable suggestions to overcome the various constraints and to frame future policies.
The students have made a detail study on the agro-based industry, which has helped
them to gather practical knowledge on key performances of an agro-industry and agri-business.
They have studied the organisational structure (staffing), functioning (production, processing,
marketing), managerial aspects, etc. Students have visited different units of the industry and
witnessed their functioning in association with the concerned persons and managers. The agro-
industries covered by the students at different places included rice mill, oil mill, food
processing industries, etc. Students have submitted reports on each of four organisations, where
they were attached under this fifth module of RAWE programme.

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 Overall Outcomes of RAWE Programme
The overall outcomes of RAWE Programme from the perspectives of the students are
summarized below:
 Rural awareness
 Field experience
 Team work
 Experiential and experimental learning
 Knowledge on field based research and extension methodologies
 Exposure to administration and management issues in context of rural and agricultural
development
 Capacity building
 Acquainted with recent advancement in research and extension
 Updating and collecting information through different methods
 Understanding rural life
 Learning of bottom-up approach in planning
 Learning the techniques of stakeholders’ participation in developmental programmes
 Understanding local institutions and their need
 Conflict management and negotiation skill
 Management of different components of farming system
 Working with people organization
 Problem-solving attitude
 Awareness about rural economy
 Impact of rural and agricultural development on rural livelihood
 Knowledge on gender mainstreaming in agriculture
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Evaluation of RAWE Programme
The evaluations of students’ performance had been concurrent, formative and
summative in nature. The students have maintained their daily diary countersigned by the
concerned course leaders and facilitators and these diaries were evaluated at the time of final
examination. All the courses had been conducted with close supervision and monitoring of
concerned course leaders and facilitators. The field level performance of the students was
assessed by the concerned course leader and facilitators. The students have appeared for
internal assessments. The students have presented their reports followed by interactions with a
team of evaluators including external examiner(s) and concerned course leader and facilitators.

Limitations of RAWE Programme

The visits to distant places for giving the exposures to the students on many other
aspects viz. warehouse, multi-purpose cold storages, precision farming systems, polyhouse,
commercial horticulture, cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, etc remained untouched
due to lack of vehicle (mini bus) in the Institute. The students could only get the experience of
rural and agricultural scenario of one season and selected region. The funding support has been
restricted to only stipend of the student and their contingency. However, funding is also
essential for organizing field visits and field days to further strengthen the students learning on
many emerging issues of agriculture.

Conclusion
RAWE is an exposure to the principles of “learning by doing” and “seeing is
believing”, which provides a direction to the students to think and act on their own. It offers a
direction to the students to develop their knowledge, attitude and skill to graduate out as an
expert and contribute in holistic development of agriculture. This experiential system in
agricultural education has a strong potential to prepare a better agricultural technocrats with
high level of skill in combination with the modern out-look and management capacity. A
learner-centered approach like RAWE is proved to be a significant in building the
competence and confidence of agriculture graduates and developing human resources in the
field of agricultural education, research and extension in the country.

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 Acknowledgement

The Financial Assistance received from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan is

gratefully acknowledged. We extend our sincere thanks to the faculty members, students
other staff members, gram karmis and farmers associated directly or indirectly for successful
implementation of this programme.

Anindita Saha Principal,

Assistant Professor of Agril. Extension Palli Siksha Bhavana

& RAWE Coordinator Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan

Palli Siksha Bhavana

Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan

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